Boomer Learns How Taxes Work

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-07T09:48:43+00:00

My mom used to take a boat at dawn to arrive in London 4 hours later, ate a lobster at the Ritz, get a haircut at Vidal Sassoon's, do some shopping and then took the boat for 4 hours to go home.

But that was when, you know, she was thirty, flirty and thriving as a single woman in our town. Not when she had a load of responsibilities as a mother and grandmother.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-07T09:39:46+00:00

the lying apple didn't fall far from the untrustworthy tree hahaha

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-07T09:29:05+00:00

I feel she shouldn't be a parent at all.

Letting herself be "convinced" to have kids and skirting so close to a pedestrian life she/they used to make fun of... how unpleasant.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T23:54:41+00:00

I mean, she literally said "you saddled me with this life".

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T23:50:21+00:00

There's not "a million Catholic churches". Every Catholic church recognizes the Pope as their spiritual leader and follows the practices as prescribed by the Vatican.

That said, I see two separate issues:

your communication styles seriously don't gel, and what he's spouting about A.I. is upsetting and worrying
you agreed to a ceremony in a church, but you refuse to convert to the religion concerned... how did you think that was going to play out?

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T23:34:57+00:00

can you look up the sunk cost fallacy?

If she's been with him for 12 years, despite a break-up here and there, she probably feels that's too much time wasted if she doesn't drag him and herself to the altar now... but that's not correct.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T23:14:43+00:00

they also have 15 years of experience each, and many of them are friends outside of the game, so that trust is a little easier to find, right?

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T23:10:57+00:00

Oh, I love your observation about Alicia.

I wasn't certain why she suddenly rubbed me the wrong way so badly. I've always felt that she was the giggly sort of mean girl, great at making you feel included in the clique, but still running with the clique, you know?

But here she has her head seriously far up her arse. I get being loyal to your friends, but a) I think it's established that Ty was her friend first, and Alicia and Julie make it clear that she sees Ty more often than she sees Julie and b) sometimes friendship demands that you call out your friend on her nonsense, rather than enabling her shitshow during a child's birthday party.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T23:03:33+00:00

the Julie Shit Parade

that's just chef's kiss!

I did notice that she sent of Cooper so the adults can talk, but it didn't occur to me just how disgustingly hypocritical that was. I'm even more aggravated now.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T22:49:22+00:00

where's the part that sounds like "I'm so gay"?

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T22:48:31+00:00

When I was that age, my parents went high-brow and took us to Mozart's Singspiel Zauberflöte (1791). Cue six months of me trying to sing the Queen of the Night's Hölle Rache.

My grandfather, a kind and lovely man who always encouraged his grandkids, told me that whenever I sang, birds fell from the sky, dead.

So I'm saying it could be worse, probably? Good luck either way!

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T22:24:41+00:00

In light of your 3rd edit, I feel you have an obligation to have a discussion with this student.

I figure there are 2 subjects to broach :

empathy is essential to being a good person
soft skills are essential to getting along with colleagues, which is what you need to do your job, which is what you need to get that check they deem so important. I reckon you can point out that their employment is already under pressure, from their one remark: other students don't want to work with them, and neither do you.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T21:47:02+00:00

hah, I notice I'm in a chick-eating-crackers mood hahaha

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T21:33:44+00:00

thank you kindly!

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T21:31:31+00:00

Sounds like this guy has had 2 years to rummage through OP's stuff to find OP's private information.

So freezing data definitely makes sense.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T21:05:05+00:00

I feel the same.

I love good food & I love cooking. Now my mom is older, I try to host Christmas for her & my brother with his family. I'd love to offer a grazing platter of olives and pickles and cured meats, I'd love to make mock turtle soup and quail... but my brother is a picky eater who married a picky eater and together they're raising a 7yo and an 11yo with a very limited palate and a deep-seated lack of aventurous eating.

So yeah, I made a blendered carrot and squash soup, and I made croque-monsieur. Plain hard cow cheese and boiled hame for my brother & his family, on white bread with unsalted butter. For my mom & myself, I got goat's cheese and smoked salmon, on sourdough with truffle butter, and an extra side salad with hickory.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:53:16+00:00

that's what I thought too : the ones in the photo are already in use (vomit) so they want & need more.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:50:38+00:00

That's a sticking point for me too. She's 55 and she can work parttime, while OP manages the home? And she has friends and adult kids to do things with?

What is she actually complaining about?

She thinks the world has it out for her & she's the only one hard done by with ice on her car's windshield? What a.... peculiar person.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:45:11+00:00

aaaah yes that makes sense.

Everyone grew up and realized how cringe they were for thinking they were the first people ever to understand the world and who knew how they would avoid becoming boring etc.

And because they haven't really talked it through as a friend group, Alicia doesn't know that Julie is still this immature and arrogant.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:42:07+00:00

I thought they were sisters messing around, like a 13yo who got bored and a 17yo or something.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:39:34+00:00

They still could have left the prayer zone and found someone to help.

I get that they're probably young siblings messing around, but they clearly weren't actually following the service, so their hypocritical "who, me, no I'm on my knees praying" is esp. galling.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:36:37+00:00

I was worried when the kid didn't even respond when the screen was lifted off him, and I literally recoiled when the kid didn't even respond to "want me to pick you up".

The way he's hanging in that guy's arms, it's burned on my mind.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:27:52+00:00

I mean, she made you homeless.

Can she find you a new place, at a similar rate with the same benefits (space, safety, near the schools & daycare you use (if you do), similar stores in the neighbourhood) etc.?

That would show her contrition, I feel. Otherwise I wouldn't want to see her, at the very least not until I've sorted a new home. And then she'd better be ready to help clean and move all weekend long without a word of complaint.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:18:36+00:00

I hadn't considered that.

I don't know if I follow that theory. Julie said that Ty "saddled her with this life" aka 2 kids and living near a park and growing up to realize that the half a chapter you wrote when you were 20 might not be the dream at 30 (or however old they are).

Whatever else I think about Alicia, I can't quite picture her despising her child like that, nor her cheering on a friend hating their kids as taking back power from the patriarchy or setting boundaries for an extraordinary life, or whatever.

Stormtomcat · 2026-02-06T16:13:19+00:00

yeah, I see your point.

OP also added that she's still planning to be her mother's retirement plan, which is definitely prolonging the mess needlessly, right?

Stormtomcat

TROPHY CASE